Fortified Manors

On one of the highest rocky ledges above the Reka River, just a few kilometers from Famlje Village and near
Škocjan Caves, Školj Castle is today one of the less known castles in Slovenia. For more than a century the castle is
abandoned. Until the 19th century it was among the most interesting castles in Carniola because of its picturesque
location and
architectural design. In this article we present the results of the last architectural history research, based
on study of written archive sources, literature, image sources and castle ruins. The results show the castle’s importance,
that it could be
possible
and would be necessary
to preserve
and to restore
his remains.

Keywords: Školj, Neukhoffell, Neukofell, Noviscoglio, castle, Rauber, Ravbar, Neuhaus, Rossetti,
Dekleva, Johann Weichard Valvasor, Louis François Cassas, Park Škocjanske jame,
Architectural conservation, architectural history

Medieval society consisted of a wide spectrum of social groups characterised by specific artefacts. It can be presumed that the handling of particular objects and the occupation of particular types of buildings helped define the status of both individuals and communities and symbolised their social status. The vertical, horizontal and formal definition served as a means of symbolic communication stabilizing the relations in communities. This contribution discusses to what extent this phenomenon is manifested in archeologically documented constructions between seats and manorial farms, and whether particular building forms allow the classification of the owners or occupants with medieval elites.

A brief glance at the Křivoklát region shows that each manorial residence, more specifically its typological group, exhibits a different conception of both public and private space, variant representation of residential and utility buildings as well as a divergent approach to location and construction. A new set of means need to be found in order to interpret and substantiate these diversities. Perhaps a frequently used general term " fortified residences " or " fortified manors " has led us to a conclusion that there are no others among them or are not worth our attention. In addition to that, boundaries are easy to be blurred in the continuum of forms; searching for a difference between simple enclosure and fortification is an uneasy task itself. Noble residences form an enormous group of features reflecting practical, symbolic and social needs. The first step is to define a theoretical model containing all the hypothetical features of interest on which further classification is to be deductively developed according to specific assumptions. Therefore, a definition may be based on from proportional representation of residential, economical, storing and fortification features of a manor as well as on certain easier approaches relying on observing relations between an overall extend of site, dimensions of usable area (without fortifications) and build-in area. A classification role may be also assumed by overall size of buildings, their number and construction type where appropriate. Undoubtedly, observing the visibility of settlements in a landscape and involving them in the communication network as well as other factors can be beneficial. However, the hypotheses need to be further refined and, especially, tested. There is a necessity to go back to data and pursue real comparative study for which the current database and geographic information systems provide extraordinary powerful sets of tools. Only similarly based and statistically significant results can be purposefully compared to written sources and their terminology-even at the level of classification of residences according to past society which is very important for the understanding of residences' actual perception at the time of their existence. Moreover, study of property law may serve as an important corrective, with great influence to the origin, development and downfall of manorial residences in a landscape as well as to their form.

Study of fastnesses in certain region can give us more complete view of that area. We are able to see the evolution of settlements, property holding and of course typology of such objects. In region of Rokycany there is the project of Pavel Vařeka and his team, which studies this area in many aspects. Thesis is a part of that project and with instruments of GIS and formalized methods adds another point of view on the problem.